While he was out, Editorial Director Jerry Gipper took notes on early 2013 conferences CES and Embedded Tech Trends.

Ray shifts gears into 2013 with market outlooks and technology projections.

VITA's ESMexpress specification is bringing COMmonality to the world of computers-on-module.

Connectors drive many of the key decisions in standards as many types of connectors are used in a typical critical embedded system (such as backplane connectors, mezzanine connectors, I/O connectors, and specialty connectors). They also hold the key to realizing advancing system capabilities, and in this regard they have run into problems. This feature discusses the trends, challenges, and future of connectors for critical embedded systems.

Software architects designing critical embedded systems have tough choices to make when selecting an operating system. Decisions can be both simplified and complicated with new framework and platform initiatives coming into being.

Mezzanine modules are an important design element to many board form factors. They grew out of a necessity to gain more board real estate or to incorporate modular flexibility to the original form factor. In the early days, few, if any, standards for mezzanines existed. However, over time, standards emerged to make it easier to incorporate mezzanines into designs.

At Embedded Tech Trends 2013, several of the sponsors were able to talk about programs where they have been successful. Let's take a quick look at some of those programs where VITA technology has been deployed.

VME and VPX boards come in three flavors of power: 3.3 V, 5 V, and 12 V. As a result, system designers have to confront the extra work and cost of designing custom power supplies when board designs fall into some mix of the three voltages. When it's time to upgrade, an entirely new power supply with a different mix of voltage types might be required. However, there's a better way to solve this challenge – one that delivers SWaP-C benefits.